I Fell
by SpatialNERD
Summary: Temporary title. Zim was exiled and managed to build a nice life on Earth. Then, the next thing he knew the Tallests were living with him after an emergency evacuation of the Massive. Shortly after his life begins to spiral downhill. Earth is attacked by rebels looking for the Tallests. Zim is put on trial for endangering them. What happens next? YOU DECIDE (read authors notes).
1. Chapter 1

A/N Please go easy with any reviews, guys D please. This is my first fic that I have done in almost two years. Roleplaying has kept my writing skills from getting too rusty but they still need some fine tuning. ANYWAYS, please enjoy and don't forget to leave a review ;v; I will try to keep chapters at a decent length but they may vary from time to time depending on how much needs to happen in the chapter and for how long the roleplay goes on for.

Also, in reference to the description, I will be making this story open to roleplay out new chapters and will take suggestions as to what should go down in upcoming chapters. Just send me a PM with your idea and we could perhaps roleplay it out and that will become an entire chapter. I will appreciate the extra help greatly because it will help keep this story going until I think it has reached a proper end.

Be warned, though, that if we do roleplay out a chapter I will edit it for grammar, spelling, and other such things. The person who roleplayed with me **_will be credited and allowed to review the chapter before it is posted._**

And as always, _I do not own IZ_

* * *

He growled softly as he pressed a small bit harder on the gas pedal, the black truck's engine roaring as it sped down the almost deserted streets of the city. It was the middle of the night and he had been in bed sleeping when he had gotten an alert and now here he was, speeding towards a popular camping area, in nothing but a pair of pajama pants. His boots and other accessories had been left behind for the sake of time.

An Irken vessel had just entered the atmosphere and had, thankfully, landed the densely wooded area he was heading towards now. A trailer rumbled behind the truck to carry the ship if it was small enough. Thin, four-fingered hands gripped the steering wheel tighter as he turned a sharp corner and started up the steep hill towards where the ship was. It wasn't long until he pulled up to an empty lot where he could park to go find the ship.

As he stepped down from the truck he activated the holographic disguise bracelet he now carried. Years ago the Irken had ditched his old wig and contacts for something that would help him to pass easier. He now sported long black hair, which was usually kept back but now spilled down his thin shoulders, brilliant magenta eyes, and much more human skin in a slightly tanned shade. He was still pale, but was not so much as to appear as white as a sheet of paper in the sun

He moodily trudged through the trees, a small device he had grabbed leading the way with soft beeps. The trees suddenly broke into a clearing after a few more meters and there, sitting in all its alien glory, was an Imperial cruiser. It was larger and more grand than most standard cruisers given to officers or Invaders, meaning only one thing.

Just as he rounded the side of the cruiser the main hatch flew open and a spider leg flashed past him, missing his holographic ear by a hair and embedding itself into the trunk of a tree behind him. A heavy-looking gun was aimed at him in the next instant. Behind it, propped up on all six spider legs, was one of the Imperial leaders of the Irken Empire. His ruby eyes shone in the moonlight as he took a couple threatening steps forward, his purple counterpart poking his head out from the cruiser to see what was happening but not wanting to get involved.

"Who are you?" The Ruby leader hissed, his sharp rows of teeth flashing with promise of violence.

The one who had dared come to hunt their ship down simply grinned haughtily and stood at his attention, his hands clasped in front of him.

"Don't you remember me, my Tallests?" He hissed, lightly touching his bracelet to deactivate it.

Both Tallests' eyes jaws dropped at the thin figure who stood before them. Zim, the failed and defective Invader they had banished, stood in front of them. He now came up to their waist, having grown a small amount since he was banished. The male had also filled out somewhat, giving him a lithe form rather than just bony and thin as he was when he was smaller. He was rather attractive now, the two had to admit, now that he was slightly taller and not just a puny sack of bones.

"No time for greetings, sirs." Zim said, stopping them from saying anything they were about to say, even though he knew full well that the two were speechless. He strode past the two and into the ship and was only stopped when he started for the controls.

"What do you think you are doing?" Red growled, grabbing the other by his arm.

"Getting you out of here, sir. Do you really believe that it would be a good idea for you to stay here for the Earth authorities to capture you? They are not so stupid as to not see that this clearly is an alien ship." Zim responded, to which the ruby leader bit back a growl and roughly released his arm, allowing the other to stride to the control console. "Zim will be taking you back to his home base. There you will be safe."

"Safe?" Purple scoffed as Red went to stand beside him. "You believe that we will be SAFE in your BASE?"

Zim ignored him and shut the hatch before taking off, keeping as close to the treeline as he could. The truck and it's trailer came into sight within seconds and it took several painstaking minutes to center this ship well enough to land on it.

"Out. You cannot ride in here while it is on the trailer." Zim commanded once he had activated the cloaking shield for the ship and opened the front hatch to climb out. The pair reluctantly followed him.

"What is this primitive, smoking beast?" Red asked as he stared at the truck in disgust.

"It is a truck. Humans drive it because they do not have ships or teleporters to use." Zim replied and opened the back door for them to get in.

Purple climbed in first, Red having to help him due to the awkwardness of it, before also crawling in. Zim climbed into the drivers seat and sighed tensely, the stress that from earlier returning with a vengeance. He leaned his head down against the steering wheel and shut his eyes, trying to get his thoughts together. If he had looked small compared to the truck in the first place, then he looked like a smeet sitting in the driver's seat.

His former leaders, who had sent him into exile nearly eleven Earth years ago, were now sitting in the back of his truck and their ship on his trailer. He had no idea why they were here. The pair had made it explicitly clear that they never wanted to see him again. That alone was a stab to his pride so many years ago, but since then the wound had healed over for the most part and he had begun to build a new life on Earth. In eleven years he had graduated early from Hi-skool and went to the academic level above that, the thing the Humans called 'college'. Ironically, he got a degree in astronomical science. Shortly after that he secured a job at the same place, replacing his previous professor. He had also gotten a mate, his childhood rival, Dib, and the two now lived together in a decent house. Dib worked alongside his father, now, but still pursued the paranormal whenever he got a strong enough lead.

Since he had gotten his life together everything had been perfect. Well, almost perfect. There were still some things missing, such as the Irken snacks Zim craved often. Other than that, though, he was perfectly happy living in exile. Granted, it was not the marvelous and famous live he had always wanted, but he was nonetheless happy and content. Now, though, now that was all ruined. His old life had come back to haunt him in the form of his previous leaders. Karma was a bitch, that was for sure.

The sound of his name being called pulled him out of his thoughts and he swung his head around to look at the two in the backseat.

"Yes?" He hissed, all but glaring at the pair. That seemed to put them off of responding for a couple moments.

"Are you alright? You looked pretty dead there for a bit." Purple asked while Red nodded in agreement.

"Fine, fine. It is just that it's early for me right now." Zim responded and glanced at the clock. 2:30 am. "Take the straps on the door side of your seats and pull them over your torso and click the shiny silver piece into the little box with the red button that sticks out of the seat by your thigh." He instructed, watching as the two looked for what was mentioned and did as they were told. 'At least they know when to obey.' He thought as he clicked his own belt into place and put the truck into gear to begin the drive home.


	2. Chapter 2

To Minty: I have always had a soft spot for ZaDr xD;; it's always been one of my fav ships. I have another fic coming up that is basically all Red and Zim because that's also another weakness of mine. Thank you for the review!

To Invader Johnny: Not very well at first, as you can see in this chapter ;D and no, the past never really does escape, does it? It will always come back around to bite you in your arse in some way. Thank you for the review!

To Guest: The concept is horribly overused, I am aware of that. Though I hope to at least somewhat set this fic apart from others in the coming chapters. Zim does have his motives, one he will not say right off the bat, but they are going to be revealed as the fic goes on. I do like to think that Zim had matured a small bit, which would be one reason for him to help him, though some bitterness towards them never faded. I am going to change his height, actually, and was planning to after I posted this chapter. It does seem more right to be shorter, but not absolutely puny like his natural height would be. Instead I'm putting him at about a foot and a half above his natural height and therefore at the Tallests' waists, give or take a couple inches. As for an explanation for the growth, I like to think that Earth has lighter gravity than Irk and allowed him to grow a bit, though not much. He's still short for human standards and likely Irken standards. Earth food may have also had a small effect on him and helped him to gain a couple inches. I'm going to try and stick to canon as much as possible but there is always going to be times where ooc will happen. Thank you for your kind criticism and I hope that I can improve based on it!

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Zim backed the truck into the driveway, trying to guide the trailer into the garage. Thankfully, the garage was a bit larger than most, mainly to be able to fit all of the junk he and Dib had collected over a couple years. Both of the Tallests stayed quiet and craned their heads around to watch as Zim managed to get the trailer into the garage.

"Stay here." Zim commanded and undid his safety belt so he could jump out of the truck, activating his disguise as he landed.

The pair watched him go around the back of the truck and then disappear out of view, the tailgate blocking their view. They could hear the sounds of chains being rattled and then a heavy thunk before Zim came back into view, wiping his hands on his pants. Without a word he climbed back into the truck and shut the door, pulling away away from the garage. The trailer remained where it was and disappeared out of view when the garage door was shut. Zim parked the truck on a section of driveway that jutted out from the straight that led to the garage and shut the truck off.

"Get out and to the house as fast as you can." He said before jumping out and practically sprinting to the front door of the house. The Tallests fumbled with their belts and then piled out of Red's door to follow him.

The smaller Irken held the door for them and then shut it softly behind them, locking it before going around the room to pull all the blinds shut. He then flopped down into a large, comfy-looking leather armchair with a heavy sigh. The Tallests stared at him and then looked around the room curiously.

There was a large monitor mounted to the wall off to the side and a sleek-looking black stand underneath it which held a couple electronic boxes. Zim was lounging in one of the two matching armchairs. A matching couch and loveseat were settled against the tan left and right walls. The floor was covered with a thick dark-brown carpet and the ceiling was made of many cream colored panels that looked like they could slide back to let something drop down. Overall, it was quite cozy looking.

The two Tallests made their way to the loveseat and awkwardly sat down, wondering who was going to break the awkward silence. They didn't have to wait long because after a few minutes a light clicked on on some sort of hall that branched off of the kitchen and shared the left wall of the living room.

"Zim? You back?" A voice, deep and male, called down it. Someone came down a set of steps - meaning that the hall in question was actually a stairwell - and a pale human poked his head around the corner. Both Tallests immediately stood, thinking he was a threat.

"Yes, Dib-human, Zim is home." Zim sighed as he slowly sat up in the chair, rubbing the dark circles under his eyes. His disguise had been deactivated when nobody was paying attention.

Dib stared at him, concerned, before he looked up and immediately froze upon seeing the Tallests. His mouth opened and closed, as if he wanted to say anything but couldn't find the words.

"Do not ask, for not even Zim has any answers." Zim mumbled and looked at the Tallests, who had sat down but still looked tense.

"I'll get the coffee." Dib sighed and turned to go back into the kitchen, the black lock of hair that perpetually stood up bouncing atop his head.

Several more minutes passed tensely and just as Red opened his mouth to say something the human came back in, holding two steaming mugs, one of which he set on a side table so he could lift the small alien up as if he weighed nothing, which he probably did. He sat in the chair and spread his legs wide to settle Zim in the space between them. Zim took the mug the human had in his hands and held it in his much smaller ones, relishing the heat coming from it. After taking one long drink from it he looked directly at the Tallests.

"Explain." He demanded, an edge in his voice. Red puffed up indignantly and was ready to retort with an equally biting tone but Purple cut him off.

"Several rebellion groups all attacked at once, both Irk and the Massive." The violet leader blurted. "We couldn't go to any planet we have already taken over since those would be too obvious of a hiding place." Red shot his counterpart a glare before deciding to elaborate a bit.

"We were overrun with rebels and there was no way we could have made it out alive, so we decided on an emergency evacuation. And sadly, the only planet we know of that they hopefully don't is this miserable dirt ball." He said and leaned back, crossing his arms and legs. "And since we are here we require your assistance to get by until it is deemed safe for us to return." Zim took a moment to take it all in and stare down at his mug, the expression on his face conflicted.

"Fine." He hissed, lifting the mug to his lips to take another long drink. Even Dib seemed shocked by his response.

"That's it? You're not going to grovel at out feet or blabber on about how honored you are?" Purple questioned, one antenna lifted curiously.

"Why would I do any of that after the way the two of you treated me?" Zim spat, both antennas slicked back and his eyes glaring knives into the pair. "I will show mercy by assisting you two but do not expect much in the way of treating you like I used to. The two of you are hardly anything to me. I also expect you two to carry your weight around here. You are not Tallests here, you will not be catered to nor will you receive special treatment." Both of them stared at him, taken aback by his tone and response. Red was the first one to react by standing up, fury in his eyes.

"We are Tallests no matter where we are and I expect you to be treated as such. No defective little exile has any right to tell either of us to 'carry our own weight!" He shouted, his fists clenched and antennas drawn back as well. Purple and Dib both shrank down at his tone but Zim simply set his mug aside and stood up as well.

"I have every right to say what I do to either of you!" He hissed, his voice dripping with malice. "The two of you exiled me from my own people, but not after making me the laughing stock of my race, and now dare to ask me to take care of you two as if I am some lowly service drone! Zim will not allow himself to be treated in such ways! The two of you _will_ pull your own-" A sharp _crack_ and a sudden flash of white-hot pain stopped him and even forced him back a few steps.

He lifted a shaking hand to his cheek and when he pulled it away he saw sapphire blood dripping down his fingers. The crimson Tallest had just struck him hard enough to leave a pair of shallow gashes with his claws. Dib, who had been listening quietly the whole time, set him mug down and bolted up to check Zims face before running off to grab something to clean the wounds. Purple sat where he was, mouth agape in shock. Dib came running back in with a couple things in his arms, which he all set on the floor before gently easing Zim down into the chair. The young Irken seemed to be in some sort of shock, his eyes wide and staring off into space and overall unresponsive when his wound was cleaned and covered with a gauze pad and some tape. He seemed to recover from his shock when Dib picked him up, intending to take up upstairs to bed. With a feral growl he attempted to leap from Dibs pale arms and launch himself at the Tallest, hissing and spitting with his claws ready to slice into Red's skin. Startled by this sudden outbreak of rage he took a step back while the human barely managed to contain the scrawny Irken, who spat curses in every language he could come up with.

After several minutes of wrestling with him Dib finally managed to get him calm enough to sit on the chair without him lunging at Red again, though the small male still crosses his arms and seethed. Purple had stood and was looking over Reds shoulder, trying not to look like he was cowering behind him from the furious Zim.

"Alright…" Dib sighed, looking between Zim and the Tallests. "It's late….er..rather it's very early for us. For now, lets give these two a bedroom to use and tomorrow we can sort this out _calmly_." Before Zim could argue his decision he lifted the Irken up and over his shoulder, heading towards the steps. Red hesitantly followed, Purple not far behind.

The human showed them to the largest guest room, which had a fairly large bed with plush bedding and pillows. Like the rest of the house it had a brown color scheme with splashes of eggshell and cream and looked cozy. A second monitor was mounted to the wall across from the bed, beside the door.

The twin rulers looked at eachother and then went in, Purple testing the bed and Red just standing at the foot and looking around.

"It will suffice." He grumbled.

"This bed is almost as soft as our old one! Red, some feel!" Purple said excitedly, seeming to forget about how his co-tallest was nearly maimed just minutes earlier. Red rolled his eyes in response and went to shut the door in Dib's face, a clear sign to leave them be.

Dib also rolled his eyes, not sure if he will be able to tolerate the Tallests' rudeness for long. He took Zim to the bedroom, which was just down the hall, and set Zim on the bed. The little one just huffed and crossed his arms, glaring up at Dib.

"You shouldn't have stopped me." He grumbled.

"But I did. Why did you go and get them?" Dib asked in response.

"I...don't know." The Irken admitted as he crawled under the covers, but not without kicking off his filthy pajama pants. "Besides, I didn't know who it was until I saw the ship."

"They will owe you one after this, you know." His partner stated as he also crawled in bed and took his glasses off, clicking out the lamp before turning on his side to face Zim. "That could be useful."

"Mmhmm...it very well could be. But for now Zim will sleep for he is tired. Good night, Dib-smell, don't let the bedding spiders bite you." Zim mumbled and curled up close to his human, purring softly from the heat despite his foul mood.

"It's bed bugs, Zim. They're insects, not arachnids." Dib corrected and wrapped his arms around the little alien. He got no response, since Zim had already fallen asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

To Invader Johnny: Sorry xD;; I'm not much of a ZaGr person. I've never been able to get into it and it's always been a turn-off for me. Thanks for the review! *throws love on*

To ngrey651: Ye, no taking over the world and no being evil. Just Zim and Dib trying to be adults and supporting eachother when it comes to hard things like the freakin' Tallest showing up out of nowhere and demanding their help. I'll do my best to make this story well written and fun to read x3 As for the blackmail, there may be a little of it in the future but not right now. Thank you for the review! *throws love on*

To Minty: Those two are so sweet it'll give you cavities. Red hitting Zim is a spontaneous thing that came to me just because I had a need for some pain to be caused in some way. Red has some Karma coming, oh yes, but he doesn't know about that yet ;D He's actually one of my favorite characters to write and read. Zim and Dib will figure this out together, in their own sweet ways. And thank you! I try hard to make these chapters enjoyable! Thank you for the review! *throws love on*

To Irken PopTart: I'm glad that you see some potential in it, especially since its so early into the fic. And there will be RaPr c: It was planned from the beginning. Thank you for the review! *throws love on*

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Dib was the first one awake the next morning...or rather, afternoon. It was nearly two in the afternoon when he finally woke up. Zim was firmly attached to his chest, his needle-like claws digging into the flesh on his side and arm. Even after the event with the Tallests he was sleeping peacefully, one antenna twitching every so often at the sound of Dib's breathing. Dib was careful as he removed Zim from his chest and made sure to tuck him back in and give him a small kiss before getting up out of bed. A soft scratching at the door distracted him from stretching his back out and he made his way over to the door to open it a crack. A fat orange tabby cat padded into the room and jumped onto the bed, curling up against Zim's back and matching the Irken's soft purrs.

"You're spoiled, Skoodge." Dib sighed and went over to give the cat's ears a soft ruffle. Zim had picked out the name for the cat, naming him after his smeethood friend for reasons beyond Dib. Though the cat did act a lot like the pudgy little Invader, according to Zim. Always in a good mood and forgiving any mistakes you made.

After a couple more moments of petting the fat cat Dib left the room to start making something for lunch, knowing that Zim and likely the Tallests would be hungry when they wake. He set a pot of coffee to brew while he decided what to make. The Tallests probably couldn't have many foods that Zim could now eat, due to the two not having any immunity to them. Eventually he decided on waffles, something he remembered watching Zim eat with no problem when GIR had made them years ago. He chuckled softly at the memory of watching it all go down and mused over it while he gathered everything up and organized it on the counters to start cooking.

Within the hour he had a stack of cinnamon waffles and had just filled the waffle iron with some batter before going to wake everyone. Zim was the first on his list to get up, since he wanted to delay any interaction with the Tallests.

"Ziiiimmyyyy~" The human crooned softly while rubbing the sleeping Irken's back.

"Mmmmnnn…...lemmeeslep Dib-smell….." Was his lazy response, burrowing deeper into the blankets.

"But I made your favorite~ Cinnamon waffles." Dib said and grabbed one of the softest blankets on the bed before pulling the comforter off of Zim, earning him a hiss. "Hey now, don't be like that, you grump."

Dib wrapped the blanket he had grabbed around Zim and then lifted him into his arms, cradling the smaller male as he carried him to the kitchen. He set him down on his favourite chair, one that had a thick throw pillow on the seat so he was comfortably propped up a few inches. The little alien grumbled and wrapped the blanket around himself tighter. The tall stack of waffles covered in butter and drenched in syrup hushed him and he set to work scarfing down his food like he was starving.

Zim had been taken care of and now it was time to wake the Tallests. Dib inwardly groaned at the idea. Nonetheless he made his way to the Tallests' door and knocked none too gently. There was a soft hiss from inside but otherwise not coming to the door or actually responding. Not willing to put up with their behaviour, especially after last night, he opened the door to go inside.

The pair of Tallests were just a tangle of limbs and sheets, their spider legs extended and forming a protective cage around them. They obviously trusted Zim and Dib about as much as they seemed to like them, which was entirely fine with Dib.

"Wake up, I made food and I'm not going to wait for either of you." The human said and flicked on the light. Red cracked open an eye in a glare while Purple growled and buried his face into Reds chest to try and block out the light.

"What makes you think we can eat whatever disgusting filth you made?" Red hissed.

"Because I know what you can eat and what could potentially kill you. I've been dealing with Zim since I was a kid. This stuff is drilled into my brain. Now get up before you get nothing to eat."

He turned on his heel and left without waiting for a response. Zim was waiting in the kitchen for him, licking the syrup off his face and looking at him expectantly. Dib smiled and turned to the waffle maker to start making another batch. By the time the third one was finished and stacked on Zims plate the Tallests wandered in, looking equal parts annoyed and curious as to what he was making. They each took a seat across from Zim and stared at the food on his plate. Purple started to reach across the table to steal one of the smaller Irken's waffles. Zim hissed and drew his antennas back but made no move to stop him for fear of getting hit again. Dib glared at them and turned to smack Purple's hand away.

"You will wait until there are some ready. Had you come in a couple minutes ago you would have had those and he would have to wait." He said sternly over Purple's indignant hiss and Red's threatening growl.

Zim glared daggers at the two and started to devour the stack of waffles on his plate. The pair glared back and crossed their arms. After several minutes Dib set a pate in front of each Tallest and then set about making his own breakfast. Purple dug into the stack without a moments hesitation, earning him a look from Red who was much more cautious about eating what was set in front of him. He took a small bite and held it in his mouth for a bit before swallowing. Once he determined it was safe to eat he began to take larger bites and was finished shortly after Purple. Zim had finished before either of them and got up to put his plate in the sink and stand next to his human, who was eating a single waffle without a plate or any kind of topping. The human wasn't usually one for breakfast.

"You two need to take showers after you eat. We have things to do today." Dib announced as he took the empty plates off the table and put them in the sink. This earned him odd stares from the Tallests.

"What kind of things? Why can't we stay here?" Purple pouted, his arms crossing over his chest.

"We need to go clothes shopping for you two and then after that we need some groceries." The human responded.

"And we don't trust you to be in our house alone just yet." Zim added darkly. Dib looked down at the Irken but didn't add on to what he said.

"You two go get showers. We have a few extra disguise generators lying around that Zim will adjust for you two." Zim glared up at his human and huffed softly, obviously not happy about having to waste a couple of his generators on the pair. "The bathroom is across the hall from the bedroom you were in last night."

Purple opened his mouth to object but Red stood and cut him off. Without a word he grabbed his co-tallest's arm and dragged him out of his seat, heading back upstairs. Zim watched them go before turning to Dib and affectionately butting his head against his side and then disappearing to the garage, where one of the lifts to his lab was located. Dib sighed now that he was left alone, knowing full well that the day was going to drag on, and turned to the counter to start to clean up the mess left over from breakfast.

* * *

It was several hours before everyone was finally ready to go. The Tallests had bickered about who would shower first before eventually deciding to just do it together, which resulted in some sounds that Dib would never be able to forget. Zim was stubborn as usual and took his sweet time finding and updating the disguise generators for the Tallests. When he finally did return to the house level he tossed the two rings on the table, each one having a purple or red stripe, and then marched upstairs to get ready. Dib was already in the bedroom when the little Irken came in and flopped onto the freshly made bed.

"What's wrong?" He asked as he pulled a t-shirt over his head and sat beside his mate to lightly stroke his antennas.

"What isn't wrong, Dib-love?" Zim mumbled in response. "Of all the Irkens who could have landed in this filth ball it had to be the Tallest. Haven't they done enough to Zim? Banishment, making Zim a laughing stock, turning against Zim when he was found to have some defects." His antennas were starting to quiver with emotion.

"Hey, now. It's going to be alright." Dib assured softly and lifted Zim to hold him in his lap. "They are both terrible guys, I won't deny that. But right now they're probably under a lot of stress. They were just kicked off the Massive to save their skins so they'll need time to adjust. Remember how nervous and stressed out you were when you first landed here, where acid falls from the sky and some meats fuse to your skin?" Zim looked away and grumbled something that sounded like an agreement. "They're going to be like that for a while now too. They'll be touchy and probably scared, even if they don't admit it. I won't tolerate their attitude and will not let any kind of violence slide by, not anymore, but we still need to be somewhat lenient with them. Just try your best, space-boy. Promise me you will?" Zim was silent as he let everything sink in and then nodded slowly.

"Zim will try to have patience with the Tallests since he knows now what they are going through." He whispered slowly, looking back up to meet the gaze of his human.

Dib smiled softly and bowed his head to give Zim a gentle kiss. "Thank you. Now, you get dressed so we can go. The Tallests are already done and waiting in their room."

Zim nodded and kissed him back before lightly butting his head against Dib's temple. "Thank you, Dib-love." He said softly and crawled out of his lap and dropped down to the floor to go to his dresser.

Dib got up after him and went to their closet to finish getting ready. Just as he was pulling on his jacket Zim called out to him to say he was done. The human sighed and exited the closet to look down at his tiny mate. He was indeed dressed and ready to go. Dib could never understand how the Irken only took a few seconds to get fully dressed. His disguise had yet to be activated, though the silver bracelet was secured around his thin wrist. Zim followed him out of the room but kept going whenever Dib stopped at the Tallest's door.

"C'mon, you two, let's get going!" He called and then continued on his way to get his boots, which were sitting beside the front door.

The pair emerged from the room much faster than they did at breakfast and went to the living room to wait. They had enough sense to not wear their armor or traditional skirts, just the tight leggings and long colored shirts that they wore underneath. Zim gave them a quick glance and then went to the kitchen to grab the bracelets, offering them to the two. Red stared at his while Purple snatched up his own, clipping it around his wrist and searching for the activation button. When Red still didn't take his Purple grabbed it and put it on his co-Tallest's wrist himself, obviously impatient now that he was ready to go. Zim nodded once to Purple and held up his own wrist, making sure they could see it while he activated it. Purple enthusiastically copied the action for both himself and Red, giggling softly when he saw him. Their green skin was now a pale peach color and the antennas on their heads had turned into short-cropped black hair, which was spiked in the front. The iris's of their eyes retained the same colors as their Irken eyes.

"Am I just as handsome as a human?" He asked, looking at Red and then to the other two in the room.

"Gorgeous. Now let's get moving." Zim grumbled and started for the door.

Dib beat him to the door and opened it for him. Zim was halfway out the door when a loud ringing sound made him pause and look back towards his mate. Dib held the door with his foot and dug around in his pocket for his phone. The Tallests looked around wide-eyed, obviously startled and confused by the sudden sound. Purple had taken a step closer to Red and nervously linked their new pinkies together. Meanwhile Dib had found his phone and answered it, holding it up to his ear to listen to whoever was on the other end. After a few minutes of listening and responding in short bursts he ended the call and sighed.

"Zim, I need to get to the lab." He said softly as he crouched down to Zim's level. "There has been a huge breakthrough with PEG and I need to be there to oversee it." Zim whined but didn't object.

"Alright….Zim will take the Tallest's shopping. Good luck, love-pig." Zim said and wrapped his arms around his human's neck, lightly butting his head against his chin. Dib hugged him back and kissed his head.

"Remember what I said, alright? I'll meet up with you as soon as I can. For now just try to keep it together."

Zim nodded and let him go so Dib could stand and run out to the Smart-KAR parked opposite of the truck. Nobody said anything as the car started and backed out of the driveway,

"What's PEG?" Purple asked once the car was out of sight.

"Perpetual Energy Generator." Zim responded and went back to the kitchen to get his keys. "Similar to the one on the Massive but much larger and more primitive because of the human tech they are using."

"Tch. Bet ours is better." Red mumbled, speaking for only the second time that day.

"It depends on what you mean by better. PEG has a much higher output than the one on the Massive but at the same time takes up much more space and needs a much larger jump-start to get it going." Zim said immediately and walked out the door. Red huffed and was pulled along by Purple, who followed Zim excitedly.

"Lighten up, Red!" He chirped. "We're going shopping! We're getting things and we don't have to use our own monies! That means more monies for snacks!"

"Like our monies are useable on this filthy dirt ball." Red grumbled. He couldn't help the small smile that appeared, though. Purple's happy attitude always rubbed off on him to some degree.

"Then we'll use them when we get back! Either way it's free stuff for us!" Purple practically dragged Red into the backseat of the truck and bounced a bit as he pulled the buckle over his chest to click it into place.

"Sure, Pur. We'll use all our monies on snacks AFTER we repair the Massive and everything else." Red chuckled and copied the action.

Zim glanced at them in the rearview mirror and buckled up, taking a deep breath before starting the truck. He hoped that the pair would behave today and that he could get back in time to start grading the stack of homework papers he had sitting in his study.

"Alright, let's get this show on the road." He whispered to himself and put the truck in gear to head off.

* * *

WHOO longer chapter today, folks :D

THINGS are going to start happening next chapter, and it will also be a pretty big turning point for the Tallests so stay tuned for it.

In other news, my Red and Zim fic is going to be starting soon so be on the lookout for it. The first chapter will hopefully be up before the next chapter of this one.

Until next time! *hearts*


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